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A view of the electronic toll stanchion on the Massachusetts Turnpike, looking east in Weston.

Boston, MA - July 26, 2018: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to members of the media outside his office at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, July, 26, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald)

Boston, MA - July 26, 2018: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to members of the media outside his office at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, July, 26, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald)

Boston, MA - July 26, 2018: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to members of the media outside his office at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, July, 26, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald)

(WESTON MA 010416)- A view of the electronic toll stanchion looking west on the Massachusetts Turnpike, in Weston. Herald photo by Chris Christo

(WESTON MA 010416)- A view of the electronic toll stanchion on the Massachusetts Turnpike, looking east in Weston. Herald photo by Chris Christo

Gov. Charlie Baker responds to reporters' questions about the resignation of Sen. Stanley Rosenberg at the State House, Thursday, May 03, 2018. Staff photo by Angela Rowlings.

TAKING A TOLL: MassDOT boss Tom Tinlin told Herald Radio listeners yesterday that the switch to all-electronic tolls, likes these in Allston, above, requires
‘a little bit of pain to get through to the other side.’

REVIEW: Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage, above, is launching a probe of all ‘refugee-related’ programs after officials said Adnan Fazeli, an ISIS fighter killed in Lebanon, received welfare while living in Freeport.

(WESTON MA 010416)- A view of the electronic toll stanchion looking west on the Massachusetts Turnpike, in Weston. Herald photo by Chris Christo

“What began in the spirit of cooperation between our states has resulted in the harassment of Maine citizens,” the oft-bombastic Maine governor wrote in a page-long letter to Bay State Gov. Charlie Baker.

LePage’s road rage stems from what he sees as a couple of different issues with Massachusetts’ adherence to the memorandum of agreement the two states approved in 2015 regarding out-of-state toll deadbeats.

The Maine governor’s office has received complaints that Maine drivers’ payments aren’t processed in a timely manner, leading to extra fees; also, when Maine asks Massachusetts for the addresses of offenders not paying tolls in the Pine Tree State, the information sent back often isn’t accurate, said LePage spokeswoman Julie Rabinowitz.

“We find many of the Massachusetts addresses that are sent to us are bad,” Rabinowitz told the Herald yesterday.

LePage ended his letter by calling for Baker to provide “improved oversight” to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Mass Pike. And the rubber better meet the road soon, LePage declared before signing off.

“If this harassment of Maine drivers continues, we will respond to the full extent of the law,” LePage wrote.

“The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has processed nearly 900 million transactions since transitioning to All Electronic Tolling in October 2016 and components of the system are designed to be more than 99.9 (percent) accurate,” MassDOT spokesman Patrick Marvin wrote in a prepared statement. He did not answer further questions directly about LePage’s claims.

LePage cited the case of one particular Mainer to illustrate the cause of his road rage: The resident, who should have had to pay Massachusetts $6 in tolls, ended up getting charged two late fees — for a total of $26 — because the Mass Pike didn’t process his payment in a timely manner. LePage wrote that the Maine resident was then subjected to threats of license suspension.

“This unprofessional behavior looks more like a shakedown than the legitimate collection of tolls,” Le­Page said.

Rabinowitz insisted the governor’s office hears this issue is systemic rather than a one-off.

“The (Maine) secretary of state is dealing with the complaints — it is of a level that concerns the governor,” Rabinowitz told the Herald.

Sean Philip Cotter is a reporter covering politics, the T and a bit of everything else for The Boston Herald. A South Shore native, he previously covered Quincy City Hall for The Patriot Ledger and local politics and crime in Pennsylvania for The York Dispatch, winning awards for his reporting at both papers. Sean's a graduate of Syracuse University and fan of Patriots football, long drives, overly strong coffee and bad puns.